The Impact of Industrialization on Literary Characters

The Industrial Revolution was a period of time in which Great Britain saw advancements in technology, agriculture, and transportation. These changes heavily influenced the country economically and socially. The creation of the unskilled factory labor worker emerged and a movement began from rural to urban areas. With an increase in wages from factory work, the population of the country increased as well. Overall Britain was becoming smaller during this time period. The Industrial Revolution did not solely bring positive outcomes. The interactions humans once held despite social status were gradually deteriorating as values began to shift. The industrialization taking place in Britain had a great presence in current and up and coming†¦show more content†¦Instead of the body of the monster being studied further because he was in fact a great scientific achievement he was rejected by everyone who encountered him. Industrialism provided new information and unfortunately conseque nces were not evaluated causing a situation of the monster being created then rejected to form and have nothing but troubles emerge. Despite growing up surrounded by loved ones he could not reveal the truth about what became a failed experiment in his mind. With Victor choosing to preserve his image over being honest he was indirectly choosing industrialism over human contact. Elizabeth patiently waited until the end to hear the truth of his whereabouts but Victor only wanted to preserve his image in her mind. Anything that posed a threat to his image being soiled had to be kept in the dark. With Elizabeth’s death Victor knew that he had to destroy his own creation in order to have any chance at peace again. Victor led a chase to the Arctic with the monster and Victor once again did not consult with anyone about this and chose to handle the situation alone. The hours he had spent laboring on the monster and the hours he had spent running away from him transformed Victor into a different man. Victor kept constant secrets from his family and society and Victor was no longer a man of science but instead a victim of its advancements. At the end the monster states after Victor’s death â€Å"ButShow MoreRelatedThe Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain1130 Words   |  5 PagesCivil War and the Industrialization of America were historic to the rise of the realistic period, and contributed to the shaping of it. The authors developed the period with an emphasis on regionalism, transparent language, and character. Common themes of racism, class, and freedom emerge during realism. Mark Twain s novel demonstrates the subjects of racism and freedom. As an impact of these themes, Huck s view on Jim changes drastically. The Civil War and the Industrialization of America wereRead MoreAn Analysis Of Adam Bede 1693 Words   |  7 PagesGaskell wants to accurately depict the real life, and she focuses on Margaret in her new social environment. With her own experiences of industrialization, Gaskell seeks to represent the conditions faced by workers to depict such changes seen from rural to an urbanized city. Thus, she increases the reader’s awareness of these issues at hand. Through her characters, such as Margret and Mr. Thornton, Gaskell is able to reflect on the everyday lives of middle class workers, seen rushing on the streetsRead More Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah1433 Words   |  6 Pagesseverity of emotional abuse and neglect of children through her personal experiences. Literature addresses this topic through the interactions of the characters and the plot of the novel. She conveys her autobiography through antagonistic characterization and her writing style of point of view a nd tone. Literary critics study and comment on literary work and the issues transpired through text, which stimulate the interpretations of readers and their appreciation of literature. Not only is AdelineRead MoreFrankenstein: Technology1728 Words   |  7 Pagesontologically antagonistic, then we might well hope to find fictional uses of the rhetoric of science . . . in texts scattered from Francis Bacons time to the present. These uses would change as the prevailing first principles of the time evolved under the impact the advances brought by science and as the consequent needs of artist also changed . . . In the early seventeenth century, when the prevailing first principles in the artists discourse community were theological, Bacon, as we have seen, used theRead MoreThe Consequences Of Technology On Mary Shelley s Frankenstein Essay1703 Words   |  7 Pagesantagonistic, then we might well hope to find fictional uses of the rhetoric of science . . . in texts scattered from Francis Bacon s time to the present. These uses would change as the prevailing first principles of the time evolved under the impact the advances brought by science and as the consequent needs of artist also changed . . . In the early seventeenth century, when the prevailing first principles in the artist s discourse community were theological, Bacon, as we haveRead MoreEssay On Narrative Poetry1730 Words   |  7 PagesMi’esha Straughn 21 March 2017 Honors English 5th period The Depths of Narrative Poetry Poetry is a form of art that uses languages for its aesthetic qualities and its notional and semantic content. Poetry can consist of oral or literary works in which the language is used in a manner that is felt by the reader to differ from ordinary prose. Poems are constantly relied on for their effect on imagery, word association, and repetition. The use of these effects to generate feelings and emotions isRead MoreEssay on Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness1276 Words   |  6 PagesIn the present era of decolonization, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness presents one of fictions strongest accounts of British imperialism. Conrad’s attitude towards imperialism and race has been the subject of much literary and historical debate. Many literary critics view Conrad as accepting blindly the arrogant attitude of the white male European and condemn Conrad to be a racist and imperialists. The other side vehemently defends Conrad, perceiving the novel to be an attack on imperiali sm andRead MoreThe Gilded Age : American Intellectual History1219 Words   |  5 Pagesintense experience, rather than lay out the different paths to salvation. These experiences were used as an end to itself, antimodern desires continued to impact the shift from the salvation of the Protestant to a self-fulfillment path that exuberates health and intense experience. Producer culture was the old embodiment of moral through industrialization and a society of entrepreneurship, while consumer culture was the newer nonmorality that embodied a bureaucratic state. Antimodernist was much more thanRead MoreEssay On Life In The Iron Mills1314 Words   |  6 Pageswith Raymond Williams’s entry Class delineates the oppressed lower class in a vivid and moving way, exemplifying the impact of social divisions on oppressed working labourers. Davis â€Å"embodies a grim, detailed portrayal of laboring life† (Pistelli 1) with an articulate correlation of Williams’s entry Class , structuring her narrative and focus of attention on gender, industrialization, immigration, and social divide. This essay utilizes these concepts and represent Davis’s argument for the oppressedRead MoreNaturalism Literary Period2601 Words   |  11 PagesNaturalist writing portrays individuality within a character allowing one to obtain humanistic themes from these literary works. Naturalists utilize mundane monotonous lives and reveal the heroine within, when all (environment, opportunities, intuition) seems out of control. This type of literature was found relatable during the rapid urbanization and naturalization after the Civil War, where many in bustling developing cities suffered from poverty and its poorly prevented consequences. The American

Stereotype Threat Of The Outsiders - 831 Words

Stereotype Threat in The Outsiders Do soceital expectations and living conditions affect how people view someone? Ponyboy Curtis, Cherry, and Johnny are all people who are affected by soceital expectations because people expect them to conform to what they think of similar people, since they do have similar living conditions. Ponyboy and Johnny are part of a social group called the Greasers, who are the poor people in the town, and since many others think of poor people as people who steal, are thugs, and are parts of gangs, as Dally does, Ponyboy and Johnny are not. The Socs are the rich kids of the town, and most people expect them to be snobs who do not care about anything, but Cherry is not. Ponyboy, Johnny, and Cherry are Outsiders†¦show more content†¦These quotes, along with this point, carry on over to the next idea. Ponyboy, Johnny and Cherry all try to fit in with the rest of their groups. Gentle as he is, Johnny carries a switchblade, just like most other Greasers do, proven by â€Å"And Johnny, who was the most law-abiding of us, now carried in his back pocket a six-inch switchblade. He d use it, too, if he ever got jumped again.†(Hinton 30). â€Å"I don t really think a beer blast on the river bottom is super-cool, but I ll rave about one to a girl-friend just to be saying something. She smiled at me.†(Hinton 33). This proves Cherry also tries to fit in to fulfill needs of belonging by doing something she does not really wish to do, but because of circumstance, they are forced to. They do try to fit in, but they do not do it as well as people who actually play the part, not act. Dally and Bob are two examples of people who conform to their expectations. Dally conforms to his role as a Greaser because he is an actual hood, as this quote implies, â€Å"Dally had spent three years on the wild side of New York and had been arrested at the age of ten. He was tougher than the rest of us--- tougher, colder, meaner.†(Hinton 10). â€Å"They spoiled him rotten. I mean, most parents would be proud of a kid like that--- good-lookin and smart and everything, but they gave in to him all the time.† (Hinton 98). This proves Bob also conforms to the Soc stereotypes. These examples show a reason to stereotypes, because whenShow MoreRelatedStereotype Threat Of The Outsiders817 Words   |  4 PagesStereotype Threat in The Outsiders Does soceitical expectations and living conditions affect how people view someone? Ponyboy Curtis, Cherry, and Johnny are all people who are affected by soceitical expectations because people expect them to conform to what they think of similar people, since they do have similar living conditions. Ponyboy and Johnny are part of a social group called the Greasers, and since many others think of poor people as people who steal and are thugs who are parts of gangsRead MoreImmigration : New Immigrants, Terrorists, Offer Cheaper Services, Learned And Productive Essay871 Words   |  4 PagesSELECTION: New immigrants STEREOTYPES: Outsiders, terrorists, offer cheaper services, learned and productive. EXAMPLES FROM NEWS http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/11/15/how-immigrants-come-to-be-seen-as-americans/how-immigrants-are-marked-as-outsiders According to this article, new immigrants are considered as outsiders in the United States. Even though there is no clear line defining the outsiders and the insider s immigrants, those immigrants who have been staying for long in U.SRead MoreThe And Collective Anti Semitic Violence1679 Words   |  7 Pagesparticularly well to understand collective violence since it occurred throughout Europe, without being specific to one particular country or region. This essay will focus on three causes for collective violence. The first is the nationalism and the threat of the outsider; followed by economic hardship and the role of a moral economy. These causes acted as short-term triggers for the onset of collective violence. The influences of ideologies deeply ingrained anti-Semitism into societies, allowing for one ofRead MoreSocial Psychology Of A School Setting1706 Words   |  7 Pagescommunity that poses a threat for disunity is among the different cultural groups. The role of cliques i n a school setting is not uncommon to see in grade schools, however, that fact that it continues on in the same manner in college is somewhat surprising. At Calvin, it is easily noticeable that there are groups based on nationality and (or) ethnicities. These groups often times do not allow outsiders into their group. They know the differences that exist between them and outsiders. Calvin prides itsRead MoreThe Adventures Of Tom Sawyer By Mark Twain1258 Words   |  6 Pagesin which the main character (Tom) lives in revolves around the culture of the community. There are morals for correct behavior, which distinguish insiders and outsiders of the community. Tom has behaviors for both sides and is regarded as an in between. There are additional characters such as Huck and Injun Joe that are specifically outsiders. Correct behavior is prevalent in the community. Throughout the story, the reader can see what correct behavior is, and what incorrect (sinful) behavior is,Read MoreSex, Danger, Vampires910 Words   |  4 Pagestime of imperialism that prompted the thought of the west being superior. In Stoker’s Dracula, themes of Orientalism, as explained by Said are apparent. In Stoker’s Dracula, Dracula is the outsider, with eastern origins. Dracula is not accepted into the west, but hunted and later killed. He is seen as a threat that must be destroyed. The idea and way that Dracula is portrayed aligns with the hegemonic thoughts of the east. As Dracula and the Eastern Question by Matthew Gibson in the course readerRead MoreThe Immigration Of Japanese Immigrants1259 Words   |  6 PagesQuestion 2: Around the 1940s, all Japanese American families were forced into concentration camps due to fear of Japanese invasion. Due to Japanese military victories and the attack on Pearl Harbor, the federal government viewed Japanese Americans as a threat to their security and took action into allocating them in concentration camps. However, this imprisonment did not happen over night, instead, the government issued their incarceration discreetly and with subtle steps. First, many aliens, includingRead MoreQueer As Folk : Over The Extent Of The United States848 Words   |  4 Pageswell known — not necessarily accepted, however — among society. The LGBTQI community has quickly progressed since the ‘50s and ‘60s, bringing along with it many social changes, transgressions, feelings of hate, misconceptions, and a plethora of stereotypes — changing society’s views on sex, marriage, love, and what it is to be human. It is important to understand the impac t the LGBTQI community has had on our society, and which titles have made the greatest impact. Out of all six titles, one has becameRead MoreAnalysis Of Just Walk On By Brent Staples1030 Words   |  5 PagesStaples’ essay titled, â€Å"Just Walk On By†, really impacted and resonated with me. His essay was about the many discriminations that African Americans face every day. He was able to deliver this powerful message by telling the story of how he faced stereotypes and racial profiling almost all the time. He describes how just a simple walk at night could threaten and frighten a local white civilian. Every day he was seen as a dangerous and outlawed criminal because of the color of his skin. He gave examplesRead More Linguistic Stereotypes Essay1109 Words   |  5 PagesLinguistic Stereotypes Language is a method in which individuals communicate in order to get their opinion across to the listening party. Language is the tool which ideas can be conveyed in various ways. Typically, language is referred to verbal communication, however, it ranges to all methods of communication i.e. sign language. Linguistic stereotypes are an existent form of discrimination. Since, languages are criticized and mocked due to the connection between language and cultural character

Social Engineering Free Essays

Identity Theft: Social Engineering December 5, 2011 Daniel Sama Stacey Smith Sr Computer Ethics CIS-324, Fall 2011 Strayer University Identity Theft: Social Engineering December 5, 2011 Daniel Sama Stacey Smith Sr Computer Ethics CIS-324, Fall 2011 Strayer University Abstract Social Engineering from the outset may seem like a topic one might hear when talking about sociology or psychology, when in fact it is a form of identity theft. To an information technology (IT) professional, Social Engineering is a form of voluntary, unintentional identity theft. Many victims fail to realize they are being victimized until it is too late, while many others may never know. We will write a custom essay sample on Social Engineering or any similar topic only for you Order Now This paper will provide a definition of social engineering as it applies to information technology while introducing some the pioneers of social engineering; those who have, essentially, written the book on social engineering. We will provide real world examples of how social engineers apply their trade and provide important points to consider with regards to social engineering attacks. In conclusion we will propose counter-measures, which individuals and organizations should take in order to guard against social engineering. Social Engineering as defined by IT professionals is the practice of deceiving someone, either in person, over the phone or using a computer, with the express intent of breaching some level of security, either personal or professional (Ledford, 2011. ) Implementing quality risk analysis solutions while maintaining data integrity is a crucial element of successful system modeling; within the context of social engineering in the workplace, there are several factors that can make implementing those solutions rather challenging. Social engineering is a type of intrusion, which relies heavily on human interaction and usually involves the tricking of other people to break normal, everyday security policies. Social engineers (SE) often prey on the natural helpfulness of other people. When analyzing and attempting to conduct a particular attack, a SE will commonly appeal to vanity or authority as well as simple eavesdropping to acquire the desired information. Social engineering, in a nutshell is a hacker’s clever manipulation of the natural human tendency to trust. This will provide the unauthorized access to the valued information, system or machine. Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake† (Bonaparte, n. d. ) This is a mantra for all successful SE’s, as they take any and all information about and from a target for later use against said target. The SE will gather as much information as possible about their target in advance, most of which is readily available online, usually , with just a few keystrokes; anything from hobbies to their favorite lunchtime meal. This information helps build a connection and instills trust with the target. With this trust, seemingly innocuous information will come flooding out of the target. Akin to fictional spies like James Bond and Michael Weston, SE’s assume a persona that is not their own and attempt to establish with their target a reasonable justification to fulfill a request. The aforementioned tactics allow the SE to maintain the facade and leave an out to avoid burning his or her information source. Bottom line; a good SE is a good actor. â€Å"All of the firewalls and encryption in the world will never stop a gifted social engineer from rifling a corporate database or an irate employee from crashing the system,† says pioneer Kevin Mitnick, the world’s most celebrated hacker who popularized the term. Mitnick firmly states in his two books The Art of Deception and The Art of Intrusion that it’s much easier to trick someone into giving a password for a system than spending the time using a brute force hack or other more traditional means to compromise the integrity of sensitive data. Mitnick who was a world famous controversial computer hacker in the late 1980’s was sentenced to 46 months in prison for hacking into the Pacific Bell telephone systems while evading the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The notorious hacker also allegedly wiretapped the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), compromised the FBI and Pentagon’s systems. This led Mitnick to spend the majority of his time incarcerated in solitary confinement due to the government’s fear of him attempting to gain control of more sensitive information. Mitnick states in both of his aforementioned books that he compromised computers solely by using passwords and codes acquired as a result of social engineering. As a result, Mitnick was restricted from using any forms of technology upon his release from prison until approximately 5 years ago. Kevin Mitnick is now the CEO of Mitnick Security Consulting, a computer security consultancy. Social engineering awareness is a being addressed at the enterprise level as a vital corporate security initiative. Security experts advise that a properly trained staff, not technology is the best asset against social engineering attacks on sensitive information. The importance placed upon security policies is imperative when attempting to combat this type of attack. Combat strategies require action on both physical and psychological levels. This form appeals to hackers because the Internet is so widely used and it evades all intrusion detection systems. Social engineering is also a desirable method for hackers because of the low risk and low cost involved. There are no compatibility issues with social engineering; it works on every operating system. There’s no audit trail and if executed properly its effects can be completely devastating to the target. These attacks are real and staggering to any company, which is why strong corporate policies should be measured by access control and implementing specific procedures. One of the advantages of having such policies in place is that it negates the responsibility of an employee having to make a judgment call or using discretion regarding a social engineer’s request. Companies and their subsequent staffs have become much too relaxed as it pertains to corporate security initiative. These attacks can potentially be costly and unnerving to management as well as the IT department. Social engineering attacks commonly take place on two different levels: physical and psychological. Physical settings for these attacks can be anything from your office, your trash, over the telephone and even online. A rudimentary, common form of a social engineering attack is social engineering by telephone. Clever social engineers will attempt to target the company’s help desk while fooling the help desk representative into believing they are calling from inside the company. Help desks are specifically the most vulnerable to social engineering attacks since these employees are trained to be accommodating, be friendly and give out information. Help desk employees are minimally educated and get paid a below average salary so it is common for these individuals to answer one question and move right along to the next. This can potentially create an alarming security hole when the proper security initiative is not properly set into place. A classic example of this would be a SE calling the company operator and saying something like â€Å"Hi, I’m your ATT rep; I’m stuck on a pole. I need you to punch a few buttons for me. † This type of attack is directed at the company’s help desk environment and nearly always successful. Other forms attack target those in charge of making multi-million dollar decisions for corporations, namely the CEO’s and CFO’s. A clever SE can get either one of these individuals to willingly offer information pertinent to hacking into a corporation’s network infrastructure. Though cases such as these are rarely documented, they still occur. Corporations spend millions of dollars to test for these kinds of attacks. Individuals who perform this specialized testing are referred to as Social Engineering Auditors. One of the premier SE Auditors in the industry today is Chris Hadnagy. Hadnagy states that on any given assignment, all he has to do is perform a bit of research on the key players in the company before he is ready to strike. In most cases he will play a sympathy card, pretending to be a member of a charity the CEO or CFO may belong to and make regular donations to. In one case, he called a CEO of a corporation pretending to be a fundraiser for a charity the CEO contributed to in the past. He stated they were having a raffle drawing and named off prizes such as major league game tickets and gift cards to a few restaurants, one of which happened to be a favorite of the CEO. When he was finished explaining all the prizes available he asked if it would be alright to email a flier outlining all the prizes up for grabs in a PDF. The CEO agreed and willingly gave Hadnagy his corporate email address. Hadnagy further asked for the version of Adobe Reader the company used under the guise he wanted to make sure he was sending a PDF the CEO could read. The CEO willingly gave this information up. With this information he was able to send a PDF with malicious code embedded that gave him unfettered access to the CEO’s machine and in essence the company’s servers (Goodchild, 2011). Not all SE attacks occur completely over the phone. Another case that Hadnagy reports on occurred at a theme park. The back story on this case is he was hired by a major theme park concerned about software security as their guest check-in computers were linked with corporate servers, and if the check-in computers were compromised a serious data breach may occur (Goodchild, 2011). Hadnagy started this attack by first calling the park posing as a software salesman, peddling newer PDF-reading software which he was offering free on a trial basis. From this phone call he was able to obtain the version of PDF-reader the park utilized and put the rest of his plan in action. He next headed to the park with his family, walking up to one of the employees at guest services asking if he could use one of their terminals to access his email. He was allowed to access his email to print off a coupon for admission to the park that day. What this email also allowed was to embed malicious code on to the servers and once again gained unfettered access to the parks servers. Hadnagy proposes six points to ponder in regards to social engineering attacks: * No information, regardless of it personal or emotional nature, is off limits for a SE seeking to do harm. It is often the person who thinks he is most secure who poses the biggest vulnerability to an organization. Executives are the easiest SE marks. * An organizations security policy is only as good as its enforcement. * SE’s will often play to the employees good nature and desire to be helpful * Social Engineering should be a part of an organizations defense strategy. * SE’s will often go for the low- hanging fruit. Everyone is a target if security is low. The first countermeasure of social engineering prevention begins with security policies. Employee training is essential in combating even the most cunning and sly social engineers. Just like social engineering itself, training on a psychological and physical basis is required to alleviate these attacks. Training must begin at the top with management. All management must understand that social engineering attacks stem from both a psychological and physical angle therefore they must implement adequate policies that can mitigate the damage from an attacker while having a robust, enforceable penalty process for those that violate those policies. Access control is a good place to start when applying these policies. A competent system administrator and his IT department should work cooperatively with management in hashing out policies that control and limit user’s permission to sensitive data. This will negate the responsibility on the part of an average employee from having to exercise personal judgment and discretion when a potential attack may occur. When suspicious calls for information occur within the company, the employee should keep three questions in mind: 1. Does the person asking deserve this information? 2. Why is she/he asking for it? 3. What are the possible repercussions of giving up the requested information? If there is a strong policy in place with enforceable penalties in place, these questions will help to reduce the potential for a SE attack (Scher, 2011). Another countermeasure against a social engineering attack is to limit the amount of information easily available online. With Facebook, Twitter, Four-Square and the like, there is an overabundance of information readily available at any given moment online. By just drastically limiting the amount of information available online it makes the SE’s task of information gathering that much more difficult. Throughout all of the tactics and strategies utilized when cultivating social engineering expertise, it’s extremely difficult to combat human error. So when implementing employee access control and information security, it is important to remember that everyone is human. This type of awareness can also be costly so it’s important to adopt a practical approach to fighting social engineering. Balancing company morale and pleasant work environment is a common difficulty when dealing with social engineering prevention and awareness. It is vital to keep in perspective that the threat of social engineering is very real and everyone is a potential target. References Bonaparte, N. (n. d. ). BrainyQuote. com. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from BrainyQuote. com Web site: http://www. brainyquote. com/quotes/authors/n/napoleon_bonaparte_3. html Goodchild, J. (2011). Social Engineering: 3 Examples of Human Hacking. Retrieved November 28, 2011 Retrieved from www. csoonline. om Web site: http://www. csoonline. com/article/663329/social-engineering-3-examples-of -human-hacking Fadia, A. and Manu, Z. (2008). Networking Intrusion Alert: An Ethical Hacking Guide to Intrusion Detection. Boston, Massachusetts. Thompson Course Technology. 2008. Ledford, J. (2011). Identity Theft 101, Social Engineering. Retrieved from About. com on December 1, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www. idtheft. about. com/od/glossary/g/Social_Enginneering. htm Long, J. and Mitnick, K. (2008. ) No Tech Hacking: A Guide to Social Engineering, Dumpster Diving and Shoulder Surfing. Burlington, Massachusetts. Syngress Publishing Inc. 2008. Mann, I. Hacking the Human. Burlington, Vermont: Gower Publishing, 2008. Mitnick, K. and Simon, W. The Art of Deception. Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc. 2002. Mitnick, K. and Simon, W. (2006. ) The Art of Intrusion. Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc. 2006. Scher, R. (2011). Is This the Most Dangerous Man in America? Security Specialist Breaches Networks for Fun Profit. Retrieved from ComputerPowerUser. com on November 29, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www. social-engineer. org/resources/CPU-MostDangerousMan. pdf How to cite Social Engineering, Papers

Blu

Blu-Ray Technology Essay Since 1997, DVD has been the #1 top selling format for home entertainment, crushing VHS with in a five year time frame. But technology is forever changing and its only a matter of time before DVDs go the way of VHS. With two new formats (High Definition-DVD and Blu-ray) on the horizon, which one will win the race? Both formats use blue laser technology, which has a shorter wavelength than red (DVD), allowing it to read the smaller digital data spots packed a lot more densely onto a standard-size disc. In other words, they hold a lot more memory than your standard DVDs. The comparison chart shows that HD-DVD and Blu-ray disks will be pretty similar. Both should be able to fit a high definition movie onto one side of one disk, and both HD-DVD and Blu-ray players will play old DVD movies.(Boutin, Paul) its still too early to call the race with both technologies about a year away, but my money is on Blu-ray. HD-DVD is more user friendly in terms of its name, with the title holding a name closer to DVD. (Carnoy, David) Toshiba, NEC, and a couple of other upstarts will be pushing for HD-DVD. HD-DVD is capable of holding 30GB or a full-length high-definition movie, plus extras, on a prerecorded double-layer disc (compare that to todays limit of 9GB for standard double-layer DVDs). Plus the cost of making a HD-DVD is on par with the cost of todays DVDs, making it a smoother transition for the big companies to deal with. Toshiba expects to start commercial sales of HD-DVD players and recorders in the final three months of 2005, with players to cost under $1000. Though under a thousand dollars, they wont be anywhere near the cost of todays DVD players which retail for around a hundred dollars. Panasonic, Samsung, Dell, HP, Philips and other notables back blu-rays captain, Sony. Blu-rays technology will go up to 50GB at launch, and Sony is reportedly working on a quad-layer 100GB disc (again check the chart for other facts on theses formats). This means technologically Blu-ray will have the advantage on that perspective. Not only that but, Sony is coming out with PlayStation 3, which uses Blu-ray, sometime this year. This means there is going to be a huge market for this technology right off the bat.(Willis, Chris) Blu-ray players are also scheduled for release later in the year, also retailing for under a thousand dollars. The biggest reason to side with Blu- ray is technologically, it has the biggest edge over HD-DVD. It offers 30 percent more capacity and is also designed for recording high-def video. Rewritable Blu-ray-RW discs, with similar features to Panasonics current DVD-RAM discs, can play back content while recording to the disc at the same time. Not only that bu t Sony owns Columbia Pictures and recently bought MGM, which gives it a leg up on releasing movies. So in other words if you want to watch your James Bond movies in HD-DVD its not going to happen. Im a huge James Bond fan; and while thats not the biggest concern, its definitely one for me and other James bond fans out there. Theres only one real difference between these next-generation DVDs and todays models: storage capacity. The best format, then, is simply the one with the most possible storage space. By all accounts, thats Blu-ray. And yes its still too early to predict the future; but Blu-ray has just too many big named companies backing it. HD-DVD obviously has big companies too, there just not in the same ballpark as Sony and the PlayStation 3. So If I were you, I would save my DVDs for now; but in the near future I recommend your money on Blu-ray. Expect the next wave of technology wars to come to our shores in late 2005 or early 2006 and for it to really heat up with the la unch of the PlayStation 3. WORKS CITED1)http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-8900_7-5600201-1.html By David CarnoyExecutive editor, CNET (December 7, 2004)2)http://slate.msn.com/id/2110495/ By Paul BoutinPosted Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004, at 11:16 AM PT3)http://www.paisano-online.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/02/22/421bd294ef62e?in_archive=1 By Chris Willis Staff writer February 22, 2005